different between finial vs pommel

English

Etymology

Late Middle English finial < Old French fin or Latin f?nis (“end”) +? -ial

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /?f?n.i.?l/

Noun

finial (plural finials)

1. The knot or bunch of foliage, or foliated ornament, that forms the upper extremity of a pinnacle in Gothic architecture.

   Coordinate term: fleuron

   • 1924, Herman Melville, Billy Budd, London: Constable & Co., Chapter 24, [1]

     Truth uncompromisingly told will always have its ragged edges; hence the conclusion of such a narration is apt to be less finished than an architectural finial.

   • 2004, Alan Hollinghurst, The Line of Beauty, Bloomsbury, 2005, Chapter 3,

     The steep slate roofs were topped with bronze finials so tall and fanciful they looked like drops of liquid sliding down a thread.

2. Any decorative fitting at the peak of a gable, or on the top of a flagpole, fence post or staircase newel post.

Quotations

• 1988 : It was a narrow, gravelled island we had to lie on, guarded by glazed brick chimneys and, running along the sides, a prickly little gothic fence of iron finials and terracotta quatrefoils. - Alan Hollinghurst, The Swimming Pool Library, (Penguin Books, paperback edition, 142)

Translations

Further reading

• finial on Wikipedia.Wikipedia

Anagrams

• failin'

English

Alternative forms

• pummel

Etymology

From Middle English pomel, from Old French pomel and Medieval Latin pomellum, pumellum, presumedly via Vulgar Latin *pomellum (“ball, knob”), the diminutive of Late Latin p?mum (“apple”). Compare French pommeau and Spanish pomo.

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /?p?.m?l/
• (US) IPA^(key): /?p?.m?l/
• Hyphenation: pom?mel
• Rhymes: -?m?l

Noun

pommel (plural pommels)

1. The upper front brow of a saddle.

   Synonyms: swell, fork

2. A rounded knob or handle.
   1. Either of the rounded handles on a pommel horse.
   2. The knob on the hilt of an edged weapon such as a sword or dagger.

      Holonyms: haft, hilt
   3. A knob forming the finial of a turret or pavilion.
3. (sports, obsolete) The bat used in the game of knurr and spell or trap ball.

Derived terms

• pommel horse
• pommel foot
• pommel slicker

Translations

Verb

pommel (third-person singular simple present pommels, present participle pommelling or pommeling, simple past and past participle pommelled or pommeled)

1. (transitive) To pound or beat.

Derived terms

• bepommel
• pommeller

Related terms

• pummel

Translations